It finally happened. After months of anticipation and speculation, the Season 4 premiere of Pretty Little Liars has finally arrived and this episode went above and beyond our expectations. “A Is for A-l-i-v-e,” shocked us to the core with the trunk’s contents, cruel daydreams, a new death, and the intriguing flashbacks. Read on for all the pretty little spoilers!
WARNING: The following recap contains each and every spoiler from this episode of Pretty Little Liars (because, duh, it's a recap). Friends share secrets, that’s what keeps us close.
Squealing the Truth: In the episode's first seconds, we finally learn what was trapped in the trunk of Officer Wilden’s water-logged cop car that made those girls gasp and gag. Get ready for the world’s most random reveal because the item that "A" planted in the trunk was a large, cold, and very dead… Pig. (Side-Note: Do you think his name was Wilbur, Babe, or Hamlet? I personally think he looks like a Wilbur. But now I have a more important internal conflict: Will I eat bacon tomorrow morning? Thanks a lot "A.")
The girls quickly flee the scene, but not before Mona snatches up the incriminating cop car video of Hanna’s mother running down Officer Wilden with her car. Oh Ashley Marin, you seem to get in even more trouble than the girls! Back at Spencer’s place, paranoia is in the air and the girls all turn on Mona and demand some much-needed answers. Mona then spills so many A Team secrets that it feels like Christmas in June!
Mona’s Dirty Little Secrets:- Mona was not responsible for pulling Wilden’s cop car out of the lake. "I put the car in Hanna’s garage and that’s the last time I saw it."- Shana and Jenna have known each other for year. Apparently, Shana is obsessively in love with our formerly blind bitch, but they’re both afraid of Melissa. - When Cece visited Radley Sanitarium, Mona was all hopped up on her meds and thought that the blonde bombshell was actually Ali. "I don’t remember what we talked about." - When Emily received the frightening massage from "A" it was actually Lucas who gave her the black-gloved rub down. - Mona recruited Toby for a job on the A Team when he got that job working in Bucks County. - Mona did not push Ian to his death off the Rosewood Church bell tower. "I wish I knew who did," she says.- There were not one, but two, Queen of Hearts on last Halloween's mystery train. Mona reveals a video showing Wilden dressed as one Queen of Hearts and claims that Spencer's sister, Melissa was the other. However, just before the second mask was revealed, Mona's computer was hijacked and shut down from an unknown hacker.
The next morning, Mona is no where to be found and, just as the girls are about to reach level three panic mode, the new liar waltzes back into Spencer's house with four custom coffee orders, breakfast, and the casual fact she has her own set of keys to Emily's car. To gain the foursome's trust, Mona agrees to take the girls to her "A" trailer lair and along the way they see that Wilbur is not the only one dead on the crime scene in town's square — Officer Wilden’s light blue and lifeless body is lying in the street. Rosewood's population shrinks once again.
Awkward Encounters: Aria runs into Ezra at Rosewood's one and only coffee shop and she's not sure how to behave around her former flame. Ezra is all smiles and causally mentions that he has been offered his old teaching position at Rosewood High but, despite Aria's mild protests, he stresses that he really needs the money because he has "a family now." (Side-Note: Blegh! No you don't! You have a son now. Not a whole family. If Ezra seriously starts dating that chick from The Secret World of Alex Mack then I’m going to be beyond upset.)
At school, Aria tries to act as though her senior year is A-OK but her longing glances across the quad at Ezra are more than obvious. The principal calls Aria into his office, accuses her of being a liar, reveals that he knows that she and Ezra were sleeping together and then he whips out racy photos of Ezria getting hot and heavy in the back of a car. Aria runs out of the office with tears in her eyes just in time to see two police officers escorting Ezra out of the school in handcuffs.
Are you hysterically panicking yet? Me too! Don't worry little darlings, it was all just an overly elaborate day dream in Aria's pretty head. (Side-Note: That was one of the cruelest things I have ever seen on my TV screen. Who else was screaming "Nooooo!" and was two seconds away from sobbing?) In actuality, the principal only wanted to pass along some papers to Aria’s mom, but this vision has made her realize that Aria needs to separate herself as much as possible from our beloved Ezra.
Like the Good Old Days: Mona is determined to mend her friendship with Hanna and the twosome embark on a shopping spree like they used to. Unfortunately, Mona sees right through Hanna’s half-hearted smiles and guarded stories on their shopping trips. (Side-Note: Hanna is seriously the worst liar ever. Smile a little brighter honey and try not to look so damn miserable when you're grabbing a soda! Mona is a certified genius. Of course she’' going to notice and call you out when you’re awkward as hell.)
New Plans, Old Faces: Paige convinces Emily that next year they should go to Stanford together and the thought of finally leaving the drama behind in Rosewood makes Emily quickly say yes. Over at the DiLaurentis house, Emily runs into Alison's mom Jessica and discovers that not only is she moving back to town, but she's re-creating Ali's old room. (Side-Note: Creepy much? Oh and I forgot how abrasive and rude Mrs. DiLaurentis was. Like mother, like daughter I guess… ) For more shcoking information on Mrs. DiLaurentis' return, take a look at what Marlene King told me.
A Peek in the Past: At Officer Wilden’s funeral, Spencer and Mona sneak into a private room and snatch back a phone that "A" planted on Wilden’s cold, dead body. All the recent calls were from a blocked number except for one contact labeled "Kisses." It turns out that "Kisses" is actually Hanna's mom's cell number and, while the ladies are trying to figure out what this all means, a new face introduces himself. Officer Holbrook, who is all kinds of handsome, says he's investigating Wildens death and would like to speak with the ladies soon.
While the liars are at the funeral, Toby receives a cryptic text from "A" saying, "I know what happened to your mom. Bring the Lair and you’ll know too." Fans are then treated to a flashback to geeky Toby's old room and his gorgeous guest of honor is the one-and-only Alison. She says her famous line, "I know you want to kiss me," but just before their lips meet, Toby's mom enters the room looking sickly and tired.
Toby confides in Ali that he thinks something is wrong with his momma, but Ali just scoffs and accuses her of being "lazy much." Classic Ali. Toby asks Alison to leave and she calls him a loser before sulking out of the room. The flashback ends and we watch as Toby parks the trailer lair in the middle of the forest and walks back to town with tears in his eyes and a heavy heart.
Biggest Jaw-Dropper: Learning that all along there was actually just a wee litle piggy in the trunk and listening to Mona reveal that huge list of well-deserved answers.
Most Heart-Warming Moment: Watching Spencer and Toby have a cozy breakfast together and realizing that they’re still perfect together.
Most Heart-Breaking Moment: The look on Ezra’s face when the police led him down the hall in handcuffs. This moment may have been fake, but the tears we cried were real.
What did you think of the Season 4 premiere, "A Is for A-l-i-v-e"? What secret surprised you the most? Do you think have any theories about Toby's mom? Tell me your pretty little speculations in the comments below!
Follow Leanne on Twitter @LeanneAguilera | Follow Hollywood.com on Twitter @hollywood_com
More:'Pretty Little Liars' Season 4: Marlene King Teases ‘big Twists’‘Pretty Little Liars’: Who Will Be The Next Death In Rosewood? — Vote!'Pretty Little Liars' Fans Will Get A Shocking Reveal In Season 4 Premiere
TV stories:
From Our Partners:Zoe Saldana Strips Down For Magazine (Celebuzz)33 Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (Celebuzz)

This is one of the best Pretty Little Liars episodes. I feel like I say that a lot, but I’m super serious — all of the wonky subplots hanging from last week’s episode sang together in harmony to make beautiful, creepy, sad music. We’re spoiled. And when I say “sad,” I mean that I may or may not have actually cried real tears from severe heartbreak during this episode. Marlene King, PLL superbot, returned for this massive episode, and the result is something both manically evil and terribly soul-crushing. If you watched any of the promo material that ABC Family floated around the universe the past week, then you know the big moment that sat at this episode’s climax: Spencer. Toby. The truth.
But, let’s start from the beginning. Aria is really sick (Lucy Hale makes a great sick teenager), and I immediately started to question my previous big claim that Aria is pregnant. I realized that the biggest hole in my pervious proclamation was that fact that Aria has not seen Ezra, let alone Ezra’s naked bod, in roughly 19 months; therefore, she already would have given birth by this date. Aria is drinking a lot of Meredith’s magical herbal tea, but Hanna brings over the real get-well goods: trash tabloids, a giant jug of ginger ale, and three seasons of Saved by the Bell on DVD. Boom. That’s a best friend. Aria is still very anti-Mom’s house, which is clearly a wave of ill stupidity, but everyone is feeling the love for Meredith and trying to understand how to deal with Ali’s scary diary pages. Aria also mentions that her brother is staying with Mom for the weekend, but I was under the impression that Aria’s brother is dead/missing/abducted by the American Horror Story: Asylum aliens. Can we at least get a concrete conversation about Mike’s life?
Toby is hanging out in the A Lair, which is always accompanied by ABC Family-friendly hard rock. I feel like giving ABC Family a lot of plugs in this recap, but I’m not sure why. Mona is hanging around, as she is wont to do, being an expert computer hacker in her ability to shut off “someone’s” security system. Did Caleb teach her his glorious hacker ways? Lord, I hope not. I really hate adding this sidenote, but Mona’s eye make-up has looked fantastic lately. Like, distractingly good. Mona says that the big night is a go: “I’m not the one calling the shots. Fear cuts deeper than a sword. They need to understand that she’s in charge.” MOTHER A IS A WOMAN. She is now known as Mother A.
On to the next: Toby’s haircut looks bad, which I couldn’t see under the standard cheap black hoodie. Toby looks like a Buffy vampire with slightly less protruding face prosthetics; have I made that reference before? Emily is reading Lord of the Flies, which clearly means that this season is going to end with all of the Liars eating each other. If that is actually how Season 3 culminates, Hanna will clearly be the last Liar standing/eating. This scene ends with Emily saying something to Toby, but her mouth is so boring and Toby’s hair is so bad that I literally have no idea what she said. Oops. Sorry?
Caleb is back! Hooray! Caleb is such a babe, and is getting into some Dorian Gray-esque relationship with Toby — the scarier Toby becomes, the more attractive Caleb becomes. Looks like Hanna made the right weird boyfriend choice. Hanna asks Caleb for outfit advice as she heads to an interview with “the hottest designer in Philly” later that afternoon, to which Caleb responds, “I’ve had this hoodie since I was 12!” First off, the hottest designer in Philly probably doesn’t have a ton of competition. Secondly, Caleb is so straight for his I-only-have-one-outfit screams. The scene ends with Caleb and Hanna having sex, but ABC Family can’t show that. Before the sex, Caleb makes a cryptic phone call. Spooky.
This episode was clearly written by someone that loves euphemisms and idioms, as there are so many zippy sayings. Toby arrives in Spencer’s bedroom wearing only a towel, and he wants Spencer to come over to “check out the new tub” later. More sex! Toby and Spencer have their anniversary that evening (all day?), but Spencer has to go to some snooze-fest dinner for Pops. AND THEN MARISKA HARGITAY WALKS BACK IN. Mariska has such great pearls. It also looks like everyone has forgiven Mariska for defending Garrett, which was rather fast in real human time but totally appropriate in PLL time. Turns out, Spencer and Mariska are stringing Toby along so Spencer can surprise him with a big anniversary dinner at his apartment. Spencer is the best. Toby has too many dark secrets. Also, key line from Mariska: “Toby… you forgot your shirt.” Accurate life assessment.
Confession (that was reference in my first paragraph): I started crying a little at the end of this scene. Spencer is the sweetest girlfriend, and Toby is going to completely crush her heart when his A-game is revealed. This show has become so upsetting and is possibly hurting my mental wellbeing. I mean, this show is aimed at 16-year-old girls and I can feel the pain in my Spencoby (is that even the correct mash-up? WHO CARES!) heart taking over my entire body. Elsewhere in awful Rosewood, Meredith is creeping around Aria’s home, looking for the diary pages, DRUGGING ARIA WITH HER AWFUL TEA AND BEING AN EVIL BITCH OF DEATH. Meredith is legitimately crazy. PLL let that character yo-yo tip over to the dark side rather quickly.
Hanna asks Emily if they can get into some “girl talk… not girl-on-girl talk, just girl talk.” Hanna has the best lines. Hanna’s hair looks really chic during this entire episode. Hanna is getting ready to go on her big fashion interview, and she needs Emily to follow Caleb after school; Caleb is going to meet up with the mysterious person on the phone, and Hanna wants to make sure he doesn’t do something stupid. Like shoot Mona in the eyeball. Emily comes to the shocking revelation that she is not in the CIA, and Hanna admits that tailing people is actually really easy.
Meredith is so so so so so so so evil. Spencer was so so so so so so so smart last week, and now we’re dealing with a lot of awful evil humans ruining the lives of people that are supposed to be smart. This episode is turning into a semi-campy horror story, as Meredith steals Aria’s phone and lies to Aria’s mom. Help. Mona is sort of dressing like Spencer. Hanna gets trapped in a store full of mannequins, where A texts her the threat of being “left faceless.” A lured Hanna to this fake interview for absolutely no reason, and then made a no-face remark to coincide with the mannequins? I don’t buy it. Regardless, mannequins are always bad. My brother wanted a mannequin for his dorm room, but I’m positive he would have nightmares if I bought him a mannequin. During the “kill Hanna by pushing over mannequins” attack, A drops an A key, which just means that our villain is getting kind of sloppy. Or A wants to get caught? A is confusing!
Emily does go out Caleb stalking, and she’s actually pretty good! Definitely a possible career option for when Emily finally decides that she cannot survive on a swimming scholarship forever. However, Emily doesn’t see whom Caleb is meeting because she gets the text alert from Spencer that Hanna was attacked in Philly. We (the royal audience) get the goods, however: Caleb is meeting… Paige! Twisty! Is Caleb a lesbian? No, these two are coming together to fight for the safety of their girlfriends. Sweet, I guess. Whatever. Paige, get out.
Hanna applied to this Philly fashion position months ago, and the office has been operating out of a new location for a long time; while I understand that A used Hanna to scare her, it’s a shame that Hanna didn’t, you know, do a little Googling to learn about her potential employer before heading to Philadelphia. Just saying. Hanna has also learned A’s end game: “to cut my face off.” Probably not entirely, but it’s definitely a possibility we should keep on the table. Hanna also gives great anniversary advice to Spencer: “Have on five-inch heels and nothing else when he walks in the door… What? I heard guys like that.” I hope no one is tired of Hanna being my favorite.
Now we get to the weirdest stretch of the episode: Aria, still under the influence of Meredith’s evil tea potion, has a crazed fever dream featuring… Ali. Ali is going through Aria’s room, showing off her great legs and (dead) bitchy ‘tude. Dream Ali is really intelligent, as she drops big hints regarding Toby and the evil tea. Ali also asks Ari the big question: “You know why I picked you, right?” I sure don’t, Alison! Was it Aria’s bright pink hair extensions? Please come back from the grave and tell us more! The doll that Ali moved in the dream has also been moved in real life, which is the most predictable thing this episode has to offer. Ali dream sequences remind me of Lost; I wish someone would splice them together for me so I could watch the clips on loop forever and study the facts. I’d need a VHS, for maximum horror creep potential. Obviously. Also, Aria is locked in her room.
Hanna’s hair is still looking phenomenal, and her oversized star sweater is really on point. Emily is wearing boring clothes, especially next to Hanna’s super snazzy relaxed outfit. The ladies spot Meredith having a freak out at the local pharmacy, which would prove that Meredith is either addicted to prescription drugs (plausible) or that our Liars are about to find out the truth about this Aria-Meredith relationship (ding ding ding). Meredith isn’t allowed to refill her prescription yet, so she grabs as many antihistamines as her crazy little ballerina fingers can cling to and runs off to Arizona to star in her own Breaking Bad spin-off. Aria is still locked in her room; Emily and Hanna need to get a move on already.
Awful things happen with Toby, where he brings ugly flowers and enters Spencer’s home through the back door. That is clearly the trademark of a serial killer, is it not? Toby also spots the lost A key, and Spencer tells some lie about the key belonging to Melissa. All of the PLL siblings are hanging out in ABC Family purgatory, along with the show about that girl that could turn into a cat. I’m glad no one watched that girl-cat show.
Meredith has made her full transformation into Horrifying Tea Nanny from Hell, hovering over Aria’s bed and slashing her in the face with a piece of mirror. This has become some sort of weird B-movie haunted house Misery-meets-Single White Female genre flick, and I’m totally into it. Hanna and Emily finally show up, only to act like idiots. They don’t turn on any lights, they don’t call 911 on their cells, and they head down to the basement with Meredith to “look for Aria.” You’ve got to be kidding me, girls. Never ever go into a basement with a creepy blonde ex-ballerina that just bought 893 antihistamine tables from Walgreens. Emily, Hanna, and Aria are all locked in the basement. Someone call R. Kelly.
What is Byron guilty of? We’re about to find out! Byron returns home to Meredith, crossing and uncrossing her legs like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct. Actually, Meredith does not do that because this show is not on Cinemax. Byron comes down to the basement… to save his daughter! (Emily and Hanna wield golf clubs, just in case.) We head back to the shifty flashback that was first introduced with the diary pages: Byron rejected Ali’s final money blackmail, claiming that he was ready to come clean and be an honest man to his family. We also get a shot of Melissa (!!!) on her cell, blathering on about calling 911 to get someone’s attention. Can one of our suspects just bury Ali alive already? I’m getting tired of this flashback game. Aria and her father have an open conversation: Meredith is in the hospital/jail/Hell, Byron is ready to come clean to the police about his final interaction with Alison on the fateful night, and Aria throws the diary pages into the fire. All’s well that ends well in the Montgomery house… right?
AND NOW. THE MOMENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. Well, it was definitely the moment I’ve been waiting for — I need to see the emotional spiraling that leads Spencer to stop conditioning her beautiful locks. Toby sneaks around Spencer’s house, looking for the A key while clearly thinking Spencer is at the big dinner gala with her parents; Toby has on his black hoodie, and Spencer is waiting for the key. “Looking for this?” Toby spins around. Toby asks Spencer how long she knew. Spencer shows that she put the pieces together when she found Toby’s fake ID from the mental institution that housed Mona. Toby flees when Mariska comes home from dinner, seeing her daughter shaking. Spencer collapses into tears. I’m crying while typing this. No one crushes Spencer’s heart.
The episode ends with Spencer outside of Toby’s apartment, screaming against the locked door before crumpling into an emotional heap. “Just tell me that there’s more to the story. That there’s something I don’t know. Please tell me.” Troian is so fantastic this week (as always), as this Spencer-Toby development needed a strong actress to pull of the emotional scenes without making everything terribly funny. So, that’s a success, as this all felt so unbearably sad – Pretty Little Liars is maybe, for the first time, developing a big emotional up in front of us (putting Spencer and Toby together) before slowly making its way to the awful emotional down. While Spencer sobs at the door, Mona sits inside, sipping the red wine Spencer had prepared for the anniversary dinner. This is the Black Hoodie clue of the week, playing a bit with convention — what is Mona up to? Still, end all be all, I couldn’t care less about Mona and her manipulative motives at the moment. I can only worry about Spence. Poor Spencer. Smart, sensible Spencer. She deserves better. Pray for Spencer.
[Image Credit: Ron Tom/ABC Family]
More: ’Pretty Little Liars’: Keegan Allen and Troian Bellisario on Spencer and Toby’s Big Reveal ’Pretty Little Liars’ Recap: Who Did Start the Fire? We Find Out! ’Pretty Little Liars’ Recap: New World Order
From Our Partners:
Craziest Celebrity Swimsuits Ever (Celebuzz) Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (Celebuzz)

David Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo finally has a face to put with the name. Well, we knew Rooney Mara was Fincher’s girl, but we’d yet to see how his vision of the leading lade would manifest itself in the film. Thanks to an official photo shoot for W Magazine, we can now get our first glimpses at Mara’s transformation into the troubled private investigator and computer hacker extraordinaire, Lisbeth Salander.
Mara’s turn as the girl with the dragon tattoo puts a more stylized spin on the look Noomi Rapace rocked in the role for the Swedish film adaptation. Rapace’s look was a little more goth than the hipper, punk style that Mara exhibits in these new photos. Take a look.
Source: Coming Soon

The 42 year old, who is married to Standoff co-star Rosemarie Dewitt, filed suit at Los Angeles County Superior Court on Friday (05Dec09) alleging a "malicious" hacker is continually breaking into his information page on the website.
The papers reveal the online joker - who is not named in the documents - has allegedly published claims the star is in a relationship with a man named Lee Dennison, and created a false profile on social networking site Facebook.com, which again suggests the actor is homosexual.
He is suing for libel, invasion of privacy and using his image without prior permission, according to TMZ.com.
At time of press, Livingston's Wikipedia page has been changed to say he is married to Dewitt.